The Mindset/Belief System of a Hardworker

[m18pak]

I would like to know exactly what the subconscious beliefs are that make a person hardworking. What is the worldview of a person who is hardworking? What enables a person to develop and maintain that sort of attitude to life. What makes a person behave in that way?

For example, a person who is a "quitter" may have a low tolerance to frustration since he subconsciously believe that life should be easy and things should go well easily. It's not that he can't take frustration, but that he chooses not to because of his belief system, and then he never develops any tolerance to it.

A hedonistic person, on the other hand, may hold the belief that life owes him a bit of fun, or that life is to be enjoyed to the fullest and that you should only worry about tomorrow when it comes etc.

Thanks in advance for your answers.

[abcZen]

- Loves what they are doing
- Doing it for a certain goal i.e. put food on the table for their family
- Believes that they should work for the money they are earning

I know a few people like that although I've personally struggled to be liike that all the time, very easily distracted

[m18pak]

Okay, I think I should clarify: when I said a hardworker, I meant a person who is hardworking WITHOUT ANY SORT OF MOTIVATION OR ENTHUSIASM. In other words it just is the way he or she is. He/she could be doing something that he/she absolutely loathes and hates, but is still hardworking at it.

I'm not talking specifically about pursuing a career or a goal or anything like that. I mean someone who just works and works even when it's not required of him/her. For example it might be a retired old man who volunteers to mow the grass in his local park and to pick up any litter, even though there are council workers to do that anyway.

- Believes that they should work for the money they are earning

That's actually a good point. Yeah, maybe people who aren't hardworking are that way because they think they're too good for it, that they're worth more and their time is too valuable, so it's actually a sort of arrogance/vanity.

Keep answers coming please.

[Jim11]

A lot of the people that work hard seem to have learned to do so when they were young.

It is all about context and one's view on life. If you grow up in a loosely run household where your parents let you do what you want, require nothing out of you, and they baby you and don't let you actually experience life, then you are absolutely on your own to figure out how to develop a strong work ethic.

Alternatively, if you have parents (or anybody influential. even books, etc) that ingrain in your head that working hard is paramount and simply the way of life, then odds are this is how you'll be for most of your life.

#1 reason for being a quitter
because you can, and are used to doing so.

You developed the quitter mentality. You resist hard work. Your mommy let you live at home for a year when you quit your job, etc.

I would say that in some ways I am a quitter, but of a different sort. I usually quit things for new challenges (jobs), which usually ends up being harder work.

There are all the usual values that you would think of if someone was hard working, such as focused, determined, etc, but I would say there are other equally important ones.

Modesty, for one. One with a certain amount of cockiness may find that hard work progresses too slowly for them, and they're not getting anywhere fast enough.

[MattFYF]

It's a mix of having a high self-discipline and believing in myself - "I know I can accomplish anything I set out to do, with no exceptions." Nothing fancy. Nothing amazing. Just skills and beliefs anybody can hold at any time, if they so choose.

[Ryan24]

I believe a hardworker has high mental strength. The ability to disregard the options of lazyness and focus on the task at hand are vital. Also, hardworkers are usually skilled at creating environments where they feel comfortable working. So it isnt so much that being hardworking is some sort of intangible trait you are born with, but something you have to be keen on making happen. If you work well alone, work alone. If groups get you going, find a group. Ect ect.

[m18pak]

Originally Posted by MattFYF

It's a mix of having a high self-discipline and believing in myself - "I know I can accomplish anything I set out to do, with no exceptions." Nothing fancy. Nothing amazing. Just skills and beliefs anybody can hold at any time, if they so choose.

Can you elaborate on this please?

[MattFYF]

Originally Posted by m18pak

Can you elaborate on this please?

Well, I know the self-discipline is something I worked really hard to make a quality I have, and so it naturally kicks in whenever I'm pursing a task. I identify a task I have to do - something I might have to do regardless if I want to do it or not, or even a task that I want to do as a favor to somebody - and I set out to do it. Normally I accomplish whatever it is I'm working towards.

Like, you gave the example about an old man who volunteers to mow the lawn - he might do this because he identifies "volunteering" with "being a good citizen", like a responsibility he has. Even though he might not want to mow the lawn on certain days, his self-discipline and sense of responsibility propels him to work and get the job done.

The "I know I can do anything!" sort of believe is something I worked hard to get as well - it makes life easier when you know you can do anything you set your mind to. It's pretty much a subconscious belief now, I don't question whether I'll be successful or not at something. I just do whatever it is and get the results!

[m18pak]

Originally Posted by MattFYF

Well, I know the self-discipline is something I worked really hard to make a quality I have, and so it naturally kicks in whenever I'm pursing a task. I identify a task I have to do - something I might have to do regardless if I want to do it or not, or even a task that I want to do as a favor to somebody - and I set out to do it. Normally I accomplish whatever it is I'm working towards.

Like, you gave the example about an old man who volunteers to mow the lawn - he might do this because he identifies "volunteering" with "being a good citizen", like a responsibility he has. Even though he might not want to mow the lawn on certain days, his self-discipline and sense of responsibility propels him to work and get the job done.

The "I know I can do anything!" sort of believe is something I worked hard to get as well - it makes life easier when you know you can do anything you set your mind to. It's pretty much a subconscious belief now, I don't question whether I'll be successful or not at something. I just do whatever it is and get the results!

Are you saying that it's just a matter of practice? of exercising and building up your self-discipline muscle?

[silicon toad2000]

I wanted to throw my 2 cents in. I believe I'm a hardworker. I work longer hours than anyone else in the company, well measurable hours anyway.
Some of it I get from my dad. He rarely had a sick day and it was less than once a year he had a mental health day.
Another aspect of it was watching the higher ups as I made my way up through the ranks. I didn't think they were worth multiples of my own salary. As such I feel that if I make twice as much as the guys on the shop floor I should add twice as much value to the company as they do.
Mostly though, each time I poke my nose into another aspect of the company I see something broken. There are a lot of processes to correct in the place.

[Freelancer]

Could you define 'hardworking' for me?
- is it working long hours.
- doing work you don't enjoy.
- doing hard physical work.
- doing stressfull work.
- always busy 'working'.
That should help clarify the question more.

[danman85]

I go in between periods of hard work and laziness sometime, and my mindset doesn't change in between the two (although I admit, I usually start to feel guilty about being lazy, and that's what gets me working hard again.) Each person is different, with different psychological motivations, its truly amazing. For me, the whole basis of working hard was a defense mechanism so that noone would really bother me. Kind of like shut-myself-off-from-the-world and work hard as an excuse. It also took my mind off of pressing issues that I would be dealing with...everything could be crumbling away, but at least I was doing something that will help me somehow. It's a totally backwards motivation in my opinion (when I'm feeling good, the last thing I do is work at anything), but I would just like to throw that out there.

I should say what I mean by working hard. I've written music since I was a kid. Literally, I shut myself in my bedroom and wrote music for most of my life, it was especially good, because I had fun doing it, and didn't have fun hanging out with other people. Now, I'm an adult with a lot of music written, so I guess I could spare the active social life.

[Gammat]

*This may look like a lot to read but what i am basically saying is that i started working hard for the money and then it became about bettering oneself*

I was working as a programmer for a Multimedia company during the start of this year. It was my first real job and i found the learning curve in trying to understand someone else's code and trying to communicate with my project manager quite steep. I started of as a very amateur programmer and i had a lot to learn very quickly, and a lot to prove. What motivated me was the money but also the satisfaction of competition, i wanted to be the best programmer in the company. I spent weekends working and stayed late nights trying to understand code and changing it to something different. The company recognised me as a valuable resource after many mistakes and dissappointment at my lack of programing knowledge, when i succesfully completed a whole module of work within 2 days that would normaly take a long time to do

*I realise this doesnt answer your predicament but i didnt want to erase all of what ive just written.*

[m18pak]

Originally Posted by Freelancer

Could you define 'hardworking' for me?
- is it working long hours.
- doing work you don't enjoy.
- doing hard physical work.
- doing stressfull work.
- always busy 'working'.
That should help clarify the question more.

I'd define a hardworking person as someone who does the thing they have to do when they know they should do it, whether they like it or not.

Someone who gets done whatever it is they want to do, no matter how long it takes or how hard it is.

[Trezker]

Originally Posted by Gammat

*This may look like a lot to read but what i am basically saying is that i started working hard for the money and then it became about bettering oneself*

I was working as a programmer for a Multimedia company during the start of this year. It was my first real job and i found the learning curve in trying to understand someone else's code and trying to communicate with my project manager quite steep. I started of as a very amateur programmer and i had a lot to learn very quickly, and a lot to prove. What motivated me was the money but also the satisfaction of competition, i wanted to be the best programmer in the company. I spent weekends working and stayed late nights trying to understand code and changing it to something different. The company recognised me as a valuable resource after many mistakes and dissappointment at my lack of programing knowledge, when i succesfully completed a whole module of work within 2 days that would normaly take a long time to do

*I realise this doesnt answer your predicament but i didnt want to erase all of what ive just written.*

This applies to me. I'm currently looking for my first job in programming. Most likely I will find myself at a place where I have a lot to learn before I'm an asset and not a burden.

There's a lot I want to know about this situation. How do you convince the interviewer you're worth investing in? How do you deal with everything once you get the job?

Yeah, this is quite off topic... Sorry.

[m18pak]

I think I know now what sort of internal beliefs you need to be a hardworker.

First, you have to accept that life is difficult, and once you accept then you overcome it because once accepted that fact no longer matters.

Then, you have to commit to being a person who just "gets it done". Whenever you feel like giving up, or like it's too much, repeat to yourself that you're going to "just get it done".

[hkalchemy]

People are what they are. You can rationalize it and try to to come up with lists of 'whys' and 'how to's' but in the end, I think it goes beyond our understanding. Just be yourself.

[robertanthony]

Have a look at the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Also if you do some research on working smart rather than hard.

What Drives You? Test - Tickle Personality Tests

Amazon.co.uk: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Stephen R. Covey: Books

[m18pak]

According to the Tickle test I am motivated by curiosity.

[Dan.Linehan]

This is a great question. I'm really enjoying the responses here.

[coLLege kid07]

A hardworker knows they're not really completing work...but doing something they love.

[konmai]

my dad is a hard worker. he never finished high school and yet makes about 70-80K a year. i know that doesn't sound a lot to some people, but that's 20K less than my college educated uncle and 20-30K more than my college educated cousin. he has a heavy accent when speaking english and barely knows how to write proper grammar.

from what i gather from him, as a kid, his dad always made him do things. there was never "oh. he's just a kid. i'll do it." he started work way before 16 (3rd world country). he was *expected* to work hard. he even walked to work in the snow, when he didn't have a car!

one thing is i don't think he loves what he does which is probably why he is addicted to gambling.

but from him, love and interest in what he's doing has nothing to do with hard work. he just does it. he hates his job. he hates his co-workers and boss.

i guess it's like a muscle you have to use over and over again. my dad worked it, since he was very young.

[beautyscientist]

I think it is all about motivation. If you want to do something you enjoy putting in the hours to achieve it.

A saying that motivates me is 'Your ideas will only work if you do'